Contract Marriage with the Devil Duke - Chapter 32

“I can’t believe that you’re getting married, young lady.”

Bobby exclaimed in admiration as she saw Olentia in her wedding dress. Olentia was wearing a wide bell-shaped dress adorned with many beads that sparkled like dewdrops whenever the sunlight touched them. The deep v-neckline accentuated her slender neck and chest, and the hairstyle with her hair tied up in a twist matched it fantastically. Moreover, the jewels adorning her exposed neck and ears were hard-to-find, premium quality diamonds.

Olentia spoke in a calm voice to Bobby, who kept making a fuss.

“It’s just a fake marriage anyway. This is no time to be immersed in sentiments just because I’m wearing a wedding dress.”

“Why? Even if it’s a contract marriage, I feel touched thinking that you’re truly becoming an adult, young lady.”

Hearing the words ‘truly becoming an adult’ felt strange. Olentia always wanted to become a wonderful adult. An adult who doesn’t trample on others, always composed and silently doing what needs to be done, like Sokol or Kikozellia.

However, right now, she was only getting a contract marriage to find her inheritance, so she couldn’t say she had truly become an adult. It was a bit embarrassing.

She cleared her throat and said,

“Ahem! I appreciate you seeing me that way, but I think I still have a long way to go.”

“Anyway, you need to be mentally prepared today. There will be many guests, and it will be a wedding that everyone is paying attention to.”

“That’s true. Everyone will think I’m marrying Duke Luxus. It feels thrilling somehow.”

“You’re that happy?”

It seemed like she had shown her excitement too much by smiling brightly for a moment. Olentia quickly shut her mouth like a clam and moved to get into the carriage. She had spent too much time getting up early in the morning, putting on the wedding dress, and getting ready.

The carriage carried Olentia and Bobby, diligently passing through Noctifer and reaching Geranium.

“Your Eminence! Something terrible has happened! The rumors circulating in secret turned out to be true!”

A priest from the Bonus Cathedral hurriedly ran to Archbishop Werbu, who was in his office. The archbishop had a pensive expression, tightly clasping his hands together.

“Did Grand Duke Dimidius Belial come as the groom?”

At the archbishop’s question, the priest nodded with a devastated look on his face. Tears welled up in the priest’s eyes.

“This is unacceptable. I think it would be best to cancel the wedding immediately.”

The archbishop bit his lip at the priest’s words, which took everything lightly. The wedding preparations had already gone through many hands, and a special marriage permit had been issued, so it was originally impossible to cancel a hastily arranged wedding. Moreover, there were also the words he had said to Olentia in Odorryeong.

‘I only have one method left. Then, anyone other than Duke Luxus will do, right?’

To Olentia’s question, the archbishop had clearly said yes and that he would take responsibility for everything. He remembered it all, so what could he do even if the other party was Dimidius?

The archbishop got up from his seat, still dressed in his white ceremonial robe.

“I will take responsibility for everything. So the wedding will proceed as scheduled.”

“Y-Your Eminence! But when His Holiness the Pope finds out!”

“That, too, is something I will bear.”

The archbishop was a man who knew the weight of promises. He had told Olentia, who had done something dangerous in Odorryeong, that he absolutely could not cancel the wedding, so he didn’t want to show her that he was canceling it just because the grand duke had come. Even if it was foolish stubbornness, he had no choice.

As he firmly left the office, the priest could no longer bother the archbishop.

The archbishop entered the ceremonial hall in the cathedral and stood at the officiant’s place. Amidst the murmuring of many guests, he saw Dimidius waiting for the bride while wearing a white bauta mask. Dimidius was wearing a tailcoat, no different from other grooms except for the mask.

Dimidius smirked when he saw the archbishop standing at the officiant’s place.

“Unexpected? I thought you’d kick me out right away.”

The archbishop clenched his fists and said to Dimidius,

“You should not speak carelessly. Especially on a day like today.”

“Of course. I wouldn’t want to see anyone’s face turn red on an important day.”

Dimidius and Archbishop Werbu looked at each other with displeasure and then moved apart. Dimidius had gone towards the entrance of the ceremonial hall.

Dimidius did not find this time of waiting for Olentia to be unpleasant. It was also interesting to see his body tense up and stand straight after a long time, and a sense of anticipation bloomed at the thought of seeing Olentia.

It was then.

The entrance area became chaotic, and finally, a flower carriage, presumed to be the one carrying the bride Olentia, appeared.

Dimidius walked towards the carriage adorned with lush flowers and extended his hand. He intended to escort Olentia.

Soon, the carriage door opened, and today’s bride, Olentia, poked her head out. She was wearing a dress with dazzling beaded decorations.

Olentia took Dimidius’s hand and said,

“The tailcoat suits you well, Your Highness.”

Even though he knew it was just a formality, Dimidius’s heart fluttered for a moment.

“You look very… pretty in your wedding dress, my lady.”

Olentia laughed at Dimidius, who had paused briefly in the middle. Her bright smile was really nice to see.

Her clear eyes and delicate features seemed to shine even brighter today.

As Olentia entered the cathedral’s ceremonial hall with its white carpet, she said,

“Complimenting the dress is troublesome. It’s not my taste.”

Then Dimidius answered without a moment’s hesitation,

“I meant to say that the lady wearing the dress is pretty.”

Olentia looked at Dimidius with surprised eyes for a moment. The fact that even her widened eyes seemed cute made him wonder if he had gone crazy. He had refused the contract marriage because he didn’t want to feel these emotions, but he felt like he had created his own hell.

Dimidius swallowed a sigh inwardly.

‘I look pretty? Really?’

Olentia kept dwelling on Dimidius’s words. However, it didn’t look good for her to be distracted by what he said. It wasn’t like she was hearing a compliment about being pretty for the first or second time.

Being conscious of Dimidius, she soon found herself in front of the officiant. Olentia felt the gazes of numerous guests and straightened her back even more. The murmuring did not subside even as time passed. Since the person who appeared instead of Duke Luxus was the grand duke, everyone must have been surprised.

“Oh my! What’s going on? Wasn’t it supposed to be Duke Luxus?”

“I also heard it was Duke Luxus. Why did His Highness the Grand Duke suddenly…?”

“I can’t get used to having His Highness the Grand Duke in the cathedral.”

“But seeing the Armeniacan Count and Countess attending the wedding as if nothing happened, it seems like this is correct, doesn’t it?”

Hearing the guests’ conversations, Olentia widened her eyes.

Sokol and Kikozellia attended?

Out of curiosity, she turned her head for a moment and made direct eye contact with Sokol, who was wearing a suit. He was sitting with Kikozellia as if nothing had happened.

‘Indeed… Even if the groom changes, we need to appear like a normal family, right?’

Olentia clicked her tongue in absurdity and was caught by Archbishop Werbu, who was standing at the officiant’s place.

“Haha! It’s nothing.”

As Olentia laughed awkwardly, Archbishop Werbu captivated the entire audience in an instant.

“Congratulations on the marriage of the groom, Dimidius Belial, and the bride, Olentia Armeniaca!”

At his voice, the guests seemed to come to their senses and became quiet.

Archbishop Werbu calmly began reciting the officiating speech, and Olentia glanced at Dimidius. He was listening to the officiating speech very seriously.

“…No matter what hardships and adversities there may be, I hope that the two of you will overcome them by joining forces.”

Olentia gulped at the increasingly solemn atmosphere. The officiating speech didn’t register well in her ears, and Dimidius beside her made her unnecessarily conscious.

If a contract marriage made her this nervous, how much more nervous would she be at a real wedding?

‘The day will come when I have a real wedding, right?’

Thinking that such a day would come someday, Olentia received a ring from Dimidius. It was quite a large diamond ring. Olentia and Dimidius exchanged rings with each other. Dimidius’s fingers were long and neat, and it was the first time she had seen his hands in such detail. Even though it was a contract marriage, it felt like they were performing a sacred ceremony.

A moment later, the officiant, Archbishop Werbu, finally said,

“Now, the bride and groom may kiss.”

Olentia was startled anew, even though it wasn’t like she had never been to a wedding before.

‘Kiss? What should I do?’

Olentia looked at Dimidius with startled eyes. Her heart pounded at the word ‘kiss’.

At that moment, Dimidius kissed the back of Olentia’s hand. It seemed like he had shown the best he could do. Having his lips brush against the bare back of her hand wasn’t something she got used to even after experiencing it again. He pressed his lips in a very solemn posture, and his face turned slightly red.

Olentia tried to calm herself and held his hand as they marched through the cathedral. The piano performance sounded truly refreshing.

When the wedding ceremony was over, Olentia hunched over for a moment.

“Phew… I thought I was going to suffocate to death.”

At her words, Dimidius spoke in a worried voice,

“Are you alright? Shall we cancel the wedding reception?”

Olentia shook her head.

“No. The cathedral must have prepared everything. We can’t cancel it. I’ll get ready and go up.”

Olentia entered the bridal waiting room with Bobby, who had been hovering nearby. She had to change into her reception dress and go up to the reception hall.

Bobby spoke to her with a bright smile,

“The wedding ceremony seemed to end a bit early, but I’m glad it proceeded smoothly.”

“Yeah. It seemed simplified. Archbishop Werbu probably did that because he was in a difficult position.”

It would have been nice if Archbishop Werbu had said he couldn’t proceed with the wedding because Dimidius had come. As she had thought, given the archbishop’s personality, he wouldn’t do that.

Olentia slowly changed into her evening dress. A clean navy silk dress with a flower-shaped corsage, and it would be complete. The navy dress went quite well with her white skin.

As Olentia had her makeup redone by Bobby, she became lost in thought for a moment.

‘I don’t think elder brother Sokol will cause a commotion in front of the guests. I’m not sure about elder sister-in-law Kikozellia. I wonder what her reaction will be.’

The thought of meeting them again made her feel like she was suffocating. However, it was a process she had to go through at least once.

After thanking Bobby for retouching her makeup, Olentia went up to the reception hall. She was already worried about what would happen here.

Inside the reception hall, a large chandelier was sparkling as it received the sunlight. Guests holding champagne glasses were freely engaging in conversations.

Olentia appeared there.